Door for bulk commodity railroad cars



Oc t; 4, (.1949.

M. BRANDON ET AL D OOR FOR BULK COMMODITY RAILROAD CARS Filed May 19, 1944 15 30 f/Azfofiu zsozzv Patented Oct. 4, 1949 Martin- Brandonr Robinson,

villa ark Glenview, I1l.,.. assignors to The Branco. cor oration,

and- Franklin: Pi.

Chicago, jIlL, a corpora Applicatiorr-Mayilil, 1944'; Serial -N'o: -536;333"

5'Claims." (01. 160 368) This-- invention rrelates to: improvements in doors for bulk commodity railroad carsand-it consists of the matters hereinafter described and more: particularly pointed out in. the appended claims. Y

One of the objects. ofjthe invention isto provide a:do0r :ofsimple;.;thoughefficient, construction; for 1 lowsingle use: cost and which may be readily applied toe-the, door --openings of railroad cars'that carryibulki commodities such as grain, salt; roofing granules and. the like and will withstand the abulging. pressure-ofthe' -commodity Without a ileakage :thereof; T

Another; object Iof the-inventionv is toprovide a :doorvof ithis. kind which :doess: not rely 'upon weightand rigidity for its:strength-bu-t which is so constructed of :light weightmaterial that the bulging.- =pressurerofxthe commodity; increases its resistance to:such' pressure while retaining; that flexibility that/"permits iittOi accommodate-the racking; imparted to aioaded ,carpto which it has been applied, in itsstopping'and starting;- as'wel-l as when: under way-:-

A further :objectaof the inventiontzisto pro:

videaa'door ofthis kind that requires nogsupport= ing wire ties,.=-thus;:providing:ranxunobstructed interior for the car, in which .thei-workmenkare more free tomove about :whenrmanually distributing sthe commodity .beingrloaded into (the car.-

A :further object of the invention; isito provide a door: of this. -;kind:'- that: includessrazpanel 0f fibrousmaterial having assetzcamberx-orrarch between its end margins that arefiadapted tobe secured to those; the sides of theidoor opening; I Furthermore, itnis: an objectr of the 'invention to provide a. door-50f this .kindithatdncludes 'a set cambered -or arched panel of :fibrousimaterial having parts at rthesbottom whi'c-h may-rbe bent :into a right angle position rforeattachment to the floor of the :car or maybe Jeft'inthe origis nalcondition to form'a flange-for aseale'd overlap with: the-"top @marginal: partofs the panel below: when. more 'thanonezzofssuch doors'are used; 111:3,(1001': opening.

Again, it is an: object of the invention :to-rprovide :adoor of thisrkind thatsinclude'sa-xpanel built: up from-a number of; adhesivelyunitedQli-es or *1 aver of; fibrous material; upon. avform which imparts a-set cam-her,- or arch to the-panel which h t-S1 great: resistanceeto compression: pressures, :of them'commodity imposed?thereagainst from -its convexed sides The above mentioned objects. of the invention,

parts .5 of the 103.!" body cdefir'iing as well as others alongwith: the advantages thereof iwillmore fully appear asthe specification .-proceeds.

In the drawings: 7

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the: improved doorfrom the concave side thereof, betterto show; the bracing therefor.-

Fig. Z'is-a horizo-ntal--fragmentary sectional view. through portions-of a-bullr'commoditycar adjacent the door openingthereof and illustrates the improved 'doorinp0siti0n=to close a lower part of said-opening. Y

Figs 3 is -a vertical sectional view through-the improveddoor-and associated parts. ofthe car as taken on the line 33 of Fig.2.

igr-l'is a? schematic elevationalview of a form; uponw-hich the panel of the door maybe constructedan d receive .a permanent set camber or arch by-adhesively uniting superposed layers,

-on'e upon the othen Fig. 5-t-is a fragmentary "vertical-sectional View similar rtO-rFigr3, but-on an enlarged scale, and which willebe 'later referred to in more detail.

In-'general-. the improved-door embodies therein -an.-'elcngated-- rectangular sheet-like panel or body having a major-dimension greater than the width oftthe door opening in the side of a bulk commodityhrailroad car'and having a minor dimension considerably' less than the'height of said door'opening: The -number of'such sheet-like panelston bodies :used foreach'opening is dependent upon the kind: of commodity the car is to carry.- With heavy commodities, suchas bulk roofing granules; only. one of such doors is used for and at the bottom of' each opening. With lighter commodities, such as talc, two or even three-of such doors maygbe used, one arranged vertically-J.- above and in. "overlapping sealing engagementfiwith' the other;

I The panel. or body of the'door is preferably constitutedabyga piece of-fibrous sheet material rather than sheet metal andisuch a piece'has a longitudinally cambered' 'mid portion for the greater part" of its length and-flat or straight end portions-s"Thepanel'or body may be made-either from a-pluralityrof adhesively united layers of papenoni'the shapedsurface'of' a, form block so as to take a set camber corresponding to said surtace, orit may be made from flat fibrous stock and-appliedto wrigid bracing elements having a When the panel is made from a sheet of flat stock, 80 point or better solid fibre board is preferred but other stock may be used in its place. In either instance, a longitudinal score line is formed parallel with and somewhat adjacent the bottom longitudinal edge of the panel to provide a margin that is slit at longitudinally spaced points to form sealing flanges that may be bent into a plane at a right angle to the body, for attachment to the floor of the car.

Referring now in detail to that embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings and especially to Fig. 1, the improved door shown therein includes a rectangular elongated panel ID of weatherproof solid fibre board or the equal thereof. A panel for use with a car door '72 inches wide has an overall horizontal dimension of 84 inches for a 6 inch overlap at each side of the opening and a vertical dimension of 24 inches.

Preferably the panel mentioned has a bered or arched intermediate portion H and flat end portions l2-i2 and is built up upon a form l3 (see Fig. 4) in superposed adhesively united layers or sheets of kraft paper. Fourdrinier kraft paper with a basis of Weight of about 40 pounds is a preferred material. Such a paper stock has no grain and therefore its compression strength is substantially equal in all directions. A panel built up from twelve to fifteen sheets of such paper, when attached to the car body as will later appear, will support a grain load side pressure of approximately three pounds per square inch and provide a load factor of safety of 3 to 1 for the heaviest bulk commodity weighin 125 pounds per cubic foot.

The form l3, above mentioned, has flat top end surfaces M-M and an arched or cambered top surface I5 intermediate said end surfaces. In building up the panel H], a single sheet of kraft paper Illa, as mentioned, is top surface portions I l-l5 and Id of the form and then a coating of a good bonding adhesive 16 may be applied to the exposed top surface of the paper sheet thereon, as by means of the brush I'I appearing in Fig. 4. Thereafter another sheet of kraft paper [0b is superposed upon and takes the form of the first one to be bonded thereto by said adhesive. Other sheets of kraft paper are superposed upon and bonded to the first mentioned ones until the desired thickness of panel is produced. The panel is then se to take permanently the approximate shape of the surfaces. This setting may, if desired, be accelerated by heat and pressure, depending upon the type of adhesive or bonding agent IE used.

After the panel has set, a score line [8 is made in the panel about 4 inches from what is thereafter the lower body edge of the panel and the margin thus defined is transversely slit at longitudinally spaced points l9 to form flanges 20-20 that may be bent, when desired, into a right angle to the remainder of the panel.

On the concave face of the panel we provide one or more longitudinally extending bracing or reinforcing cleats 2| and 22 respectively, one being disposed along the top edge of the panel and the other about midway between said edge and the score line 18. Preferably these cleats are made either from strips of solid wood or from laminated resin, animal glue or casein bonded wood veneer strips, '78 inches long by 3 inches wide and inch thick, that are thermal pressure machine bent to conform to that surface (the concaved side) of the panel with which they are associated. Said cleats each have straight ends set cam- L laid upon the 23 that are 3 inches long so that at each end of the panel, its fiat portions l2l2 extend 3 inches beyond the end edges of the cleats. The cleats may be attached to the panel as by the staples 24 that pass through the straight end parts 23 of the cleats and those portions of the straight ends of the panel with which said end parts of the cleats engage.

The use of the cleats mentioned is advantageous with fiat sheet stock. Under such circumstances the sheet is placed upon the convexed side of the preformed cleats and bent to conform to and then secured to said cleats, as before mentioned. As the cleats are more rigid than the panel, the panel will take the cambered form of said cleats. In Fig. 5 is illustrated a construction wherein the panel, which is indicated at Ha is built up of such a number of superposed adhesively united plies as to make the use of the cleats 2i and 22 unnecessary, the other parts remaining the same as before.

In Fig. 2 is illustrated a part of a bulk commodity railroad car body including a floor 25, side wall sheathing 26 and upright posts 2'|--2| one at each side of a door opening 28. When the improved door is in position with respect to said door opening, its arched or cambered mid portion extends inwardly into the car body with the straight parts 23 of the cleats 2l-22 overlapping the inner part of the sheathing at the posts 21 and with the straight parts of the end margins of the panel extending beyond the ends of the cleats and also overlappin said sheathing parts and to which they are attached by the nails 29. Also, when the door is in the position mentioned, the flanges20- -20 of the panel will have been bent into-a right angle position with respect to the panels so as to engage the floor 25 and to which they are attached as by the nails 30.

If it is desired to increase the effective height of the door, for use with lighter bulk commodity 3| such as tale, a second panel lilac is attached in place above the first one, with the flanges 26-20 disposed without right angle bending to overlap the top marginal part of the first one, as shown in Fig. 3.

When the door is in place, as above described, a tight seal is afforded against commodity leakage at the lateral ends and at the bottom of the door.

When the car is loaded with a bulk commodity, this commodity will exert a pressure against the convexed side of the door and place it under compression because of the attachment the ends of 'the panel have with the car body, as before mentioned. This pressure tends to straighten out the arched or cambered part of the panel and the greater this pressure, the greater the resistance to suchpre'ssure is built up in the door. In the Stopping and the starting of the car a considerable racking action may be set up in the car, which is transmitted endwise to the door. However, due to its construction, the improved door will flex endwise to a degree sufiicient to accommodate such action without tearing or breaking and without pulling away from those parts of the car body to which it is nailed.

From the above, it is to be noted that the door has a preformed arched construction which is capable of withstanding the bulging pressure of the commodity load without the use of wire ties and the like so that a free unobstructed space is provided in the car for workmen who might have to spread the commodity evenly in the car.

By forming the panel with a set camber or arch, as before described, it possesses a pressure resistance with a good safety factor for its intended purpose. Therefore, it may be made lighter in weight without a sacrifice in strength. Also, it may be readily applied to the car and removed therefrom for unloading the commodity.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the cambered fibrous sheet material appears as if constituted of a single layer, but it will be understood that because of the small scale, it is not feasible to illustrate the several layers of which the same is actually composed. Reference to Fig. 4 and the descriptive matter relative thereto discloses the preferred laminated structure used in practice. In Fig. 5, which is shown on a larger scale, the lamination feature is better illustrated.

While in describing the invention we have referred in detail to the form, arrangement and construction of the parts involved, the same is to be considered only in an illustrative sense so that We do not wish to be limited thereto except as may be specifically set forth in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A door of the kind described, embodying therein a generally rectangular panel of fibrous sheet material of uniform thickness wider than the door opening of the car for which it is designed and cambered inwardly of the car and including lateral margins for attachment to parts of the car at the sides of said door opening, and at least one laterally extending bracing element having the camber of and attached toone of the faces of the panel, the braced door flexibly resisting compression imposed upon its convexed face by any commodity in the car pressing thereagainst.

2. A door of the kind described, embodying therein a generally rectangular panel of fibrous sheet material of uniform thickness wider than the door opening of the car for which it is designed and cambered inwardly of the car and including lateral margins for attachment to parts of the car at the sides of said door opening, a sealing flange at the bottom of said panel and. at least one laterally extending bracing element having the camber of and attached to one of the faces of said panel, the braced door flexibly resisting compression imposed upon its convexed face by any commodity in the car pressing thereagainst.

3. A door of the kind described, embodying therein a generally rectangular panel of fibrous sheet material of uniform thickness wider than the door opening of the car for which it is designed and cambered inwardly of the car and including lateral margins for attachment to parts of the car at the sides of said door opening, and at least one laterally extending bracing element having the camber of and attached to one of said faces of said panel and terminating at said margins, the braced door flexibly resisting compression imposed upon its convexed face by any commodity in the car pressing thereagainst.

4. In combination with a railroad car having a floor and opposed side walls, each with a door opening therein, an appliance for closing at least the bottom part of one door opening and embodying therein a, panel of relatively thin fibrous sheet material wider than said door opening and eambered inwardly of the car and including lateral margins attached to parts of the side of the car at each side of the door opening therein and further including a bent integral sealing flange at the bottom attached to the floor of the car, and rigid bracing means having the camber of and attached to one of the faces of said panel.

5. In combination with the body of a railroad car, a panel of relatively thin fibrous sheet material cambered inwardly of the car and provided with a bottom portion engaged with the floor of the car body and lateral margins fixed to side wall portions of the car body, and laterally extending bracing elements having the camber of and attached to the concaved face of the panel.

MARTIN BRANDON. FRANKLIN P. ROBINSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France 1938 

